Disposable shoe shining pad



April 9, 1960 c. E. GRAVES 2,932,841

DISPOSABLE SHOE SHINING PAD Filed April 28, 1958 l3 l3 l0 1;. 7

1/ l2 l5 l4 1&5

INVENTQR. Clare E- Graved F7 TTORNE gates Unite My invention relates to disposable shoe shining pad. An object of my invention is to provide a small pad 'which can be made of any suitable material for the purpose intended, and which pad can be folded up into a compact small unit, which can be either dispensed from dispensing machines, or which units can be packaged with several of the same in a single package.

A further object of my invention is to provide a pad which is folded in such manner that first one side of the pad can be used to apply polish to the shoe, and then a further side, without contact of the hands directly onto the polish.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a pad which can be also folded so that the shoes can be vigorously rubbed during the shining operation after the aforesaid polish has been applied, also without contact by the hands.

A further object of my invention is to provide other advantages which will be readily apparent.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the pad in its developed or open position,

Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the pad in its completely folded condition,

Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is an end view of the pad as it would appear during the operation of shining one shoe, and

Figure 6 is an end view of the pad as it would appear while shining the shoes.

My invention contemplates a very simple and compact pad which will fulfill all the requirements of polishing and shining shoes, yet without requiring the somewhat messy use of separate polishing brushes, polish cans or liquids, and separate shining cloths or pads, and to provide the same in a simple pad form wherein several of such pads can be used in a dispensing machine or also in a packaged form.

I have used the character 10 to designate generally a substantially rectangular pad which is preferably made of a disposable material such as a certain quality of paper which can be slightly absorbent or otherwise, it being understood, however, that my invention contemplates the provision of any other suitable material consistent with the principles herein.

The pad 10 includes a pair of fold lines at'll, and a central fold line at 12, this fold line being pressed into the material so that the pad will be properly folded when used by the operator.

Placed over the fold lines 11 is a circular mass or body of polish 13, the fold lines being substantially centrally positioned thereof, the polish 13 being any suitable polish of any desired color, the color black being shown herein, this polish adhering to the sheet or pad 10, the polish preferably being made of a suitable material which will not dry too rapidly, it being understood, however, that any dispensing unit or container in which the pads are dispensed can include a water-receiving vessel for keeping moisture in the polish, and I have also found that by moistening a small corner of the pad llil, when the pads are kept in a cabinet or package, the moisture will serve to maintain the polish in a semi-plastic state for a relatively long time, it being also noted that if the pads are kept in a thin plastic container, the moisture will be retained.

Figure 2 shows an end view of the pad with the thickness of'the polish being slightly exaggerated for clarity.

Figure 4 shows how the pad can be folded up in its dispensing form before use, with the various portions designated by the characters 14, 15, 16 and 17 being shown in the positions in which they will appear when the pad is thus folded.

When it is desired to shine the shoes, the pad is first opened to the position shown in Figure 5 whereby one of the masses of polish 13 can be applied to one shoe, and with the portions 16 and 17 being held by the hand to provide a handle, whereby the hands cannot come in contact with the polish between these portions.

After the polish has been applied on one side, as viewed in Figure 5, the respective member 14 can be folded over the member 15, whereupon the right-hand side of the pad will be the same as was the left-hand side, and then the portion 17 is unfolded outwardly in line with the portion 16, after which the polish can be applied to the other shoe.

Next, the various elements are folded together as shown in Figure 6, whereupon the hand can press against the portions 14 and 17, and the outside surfaces of the portions 16 and 15 can be used to vigorously shine the shoes, and after this operation the pad can be thrown away.

It will be obvious that these pads can be made at a minimum cost and can be dispensed as above described, it being understood that other modifications can be made without departing from the essential spirit of my invention.

It will now be seen that I have provided the advantages mentioned in the objects of my invention, with further advantages being readily apparent.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within its scope.

I claim as my invention:

A disposable shoe shining pad comprising a substantially rectangular sheet, said sheet having a medial fold, and further folds spaced outwardly from said medial fold, substantially circular shoe polish masses adherent to said sheet, said further folds passing substantially centrally of said shoe polish masses, whereby said pad can be folded first on said further folds and thence on said medial fold and whereby said shoe polish masses will be thus retained interiorly within said sheet, and whereby unfolding along said further folds will provide means for using one of said shoe polish masses and then the other, and whereby folding along both of said further folds will provide means for shining shoes on the exterior surfaces of said sheet opposite to where said shoe polish masses adhere.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,744,532 Ean Jan. 21, 1930 2,057,500 OConnor Oct. 13, 1936 2,523,909 Kreidler Sept. 26, 1950 2,621,784 Van Boytham Dec. 16, 1952 2,839,774 Rand June 24, 1958 

